By Gary Dickson
Talk about something going viral; social networking is the epitome of going viral. Almost everyone with a computer has established a Facebook or MySpace account. There have been lots of positive stories about people reconnecting with old friends they had lost contact with.
Not everyone uses social networking and some people probably use it too much. There was a recent humorous news story about how New England patriot coach Bill Belichick indicated his lack of interest in social networking when a reporter asked his opinion about one of his player”s social networking habits. Belichick responded, “?I don”t do MyFace. I don”t use Yearbook. I don”t do any of those things so I”d probably be the last to know.”
While it may still be true that more young people use social networking than people 50 and older, the usage by that group is growing fast. Another group in which the usage is rapidly expanding is those who make hiring decisions and that might not be good news for everyone.
Consider this scenario. Jobs are scarce. You need every advantage you can possibly get just to get a face-to-face interview with a good employer. You”ve spent money to get a professional resume written for you. You have sent that resume out to all of the companies wanting to fill jobs that you are qualified for. You have spent several hundred dollars on a new suit in expectation of landing that big interview. You have studied for hours to have all the right answers for all the most frequently asked interview questions.
You”ve covered all the bases, yet no one is calling you to set up the interview. The one thing you are not considering is the fact that there is a photo of you on Facebook with a lampshade on your head and your comment about how wasted you were at some huge party.
A real-life story I just read told how a recently graduated female psychiatrist was about to land her dream job. At the last minute the hiring committee noticed that she had several risqu? pictures of herself on Facebook. The committee decided not to hire her and told her exactly why.
We all know that the references listed on your resume are people who are going to say only good things about you. And recruiter calls to former employers reveal little. No one will say anything for fear of being sued. So, recruiters are now resorting to one surefire place they can find out more about what you are really like. They check out your Facebook or MySpace page and get the information directly from you.
Not getting to first base for a job is only one of several of the growing lists in which your social networking page(s) can haunt your life instead of help it. There is a long list of teacher terminations for the things they have placed on their Facebook page about their students or the administration.
Identity thieves are finding victims on Facebook and other sites. Insurance agents are finding out who should be canceled or have their rates increased. Thieves are finding out when people are on vacation and their house is ripe to be robbed.
Kathy Kristoff of Moneywatch.com has published a list of the six things that people should never reveal on a social networking site in order to protect their job, their home, their family, their money and themselves. The list includes your birth day and place of birth, your vacation plans, your home address and confessions such as hating your boss, students or co-workers, password clues that could make your computer vulnerable and risky behaviors like hang gliding or ice climbing.
My advice is to carefully consider every sentence written and every photo placed on a social networking site, especially when people you don”t know have access. You never know who might be reading and looking.
Next week”s column will be about how social networking actually benefits older adults.
Gary Dickson is the publisher of the Record-Bee. Call him at 263-5636, ext. 24. E-mail him at gdickson@record-bee.com.
